Losing bidders for LICH protest to AG, comptroller

Spurned suitors cry foul on the Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, hospital sale.

Failed bidders are sending letters to the state attorney general and comptroller in protest of the sale of Long Island College Hospital.Photo: Buck Ennis

Failed bidders for Long Island College Hospital have been meeting with Brooklyn clergy and politicians in recent weeks with the goal of prying open some path to derailing the state's new sales contract for the site.

A group of five elected officials have now sent letters to the offices of the state comptroller and attorney general, protesting the State University of New York's deal with the Fortis Property Group to redevelop the Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, hospital.

The two letters of protest, dated July 10, are from City Council members Stephen Levin, Carlos Menchaca, and Brad Lander; State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assemblywoman Joan Millman. In a letter to Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the politicians ask him to reject the sales contract for LICH. "Consider the deep flaws in the selection process that have resulted in the disregard of the community's essential health care needs," it reads.

They also ask the comptroller to "conduct a thorough review of the selection process, with an eye toward impartiality and transparency, as well as the shared goal of protecting critical health care services."

The letter to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman asks the office's charities bureau to investigate what the group's political backers say is the mismanagement of a $135 million endowment left to the Brooklyn hospital by Donald and Mildred Othmer. Mr. Schneiderman's office, according to the letter, should "conduct a full review of the use and disposition of the Othmer Fund, both retrospectively and in the context of this agreement, before any court approval on the sale is granted."

The team behind one of the failed bidders, minority-owned Brooklyn Health Partners, has been working with Brooklyn clergy to raise the issue of whether the LICH bid process was discriminatory to minorities. This week, a published report said BHP was planning to file a discrimination lawsuit over its failed bid, but a spokeswoman confirmed that no legal papers have been drafted.

In late June, the BHP spokeswoman publicized a press event for leaders of the NAACP, the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Caucus of the New York State Senate and Assembly, and a coalition called Mobilizing Preachers and Communities. The group asked the attorney general and the comptroller, as well as Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to halt the sale.

Separately, the company behind another failed bid for LICH also formally protested the Fortis contract. Trindade Value Partners unsuccessfully proposed a full-service hospital at the site.

Derek Oubre, Trindade's president and chief executive, lodged a formal protest on April 14 with SUNY over BHP's bid. He argued the winning bid should be dismissed because the group allegedly underestimated the cost of renovating LICH's campus. He filed a similar protest with the state comptroller on April 30.

SUNY, in a five-page June letter, said Trindade's assertions were baseless. Some of Mr. Oubre's assertions are technical, involving the weighted scoring methodology. Mr. Oubre also said SUNY should have made sure the bids realistically estimated building costs. SUNY disagreed.

"The sufficiency of the renovation or construction costs was not a mandatory requirement under the RFP and, therefore, did not serve as a basis under the evaluation methodology to disqualify," the bids, wrote Thomas Hippchen, SUNY's director of university-wide procurement.

Mr. Oubre has exercised his right to appeal SUNY's rejection of his protest. On June 26, he appealed, calling SUNY's determination "ridiculous." The appeal document is detailed in its discussion of whether votes were weighted and tallied incorrectly. Mr. Oubre still believes a 300-bed hospital is feasible at LICH, and proposed a collaboration among the bidders.

"This process has been a long and bitter fight for all involved," he wrote. "I understand that SUNY wishes to exit LICH in the most expeditious manner possible ... I believe that the best resolution to the issues at hand might lie in a joint venture between certain of the parties."

A SUNY spokesman said the Fortis deal "is moving forward and was negotiated and signed under the terms of the RFP and the stipulation and order. There is a well-defined process to file protests to the RFP, which has and will be adhered to."

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